The new iPhone... What do you think?

[toner87]

I think it's very cool... Too bad I just switched to Verizon...

[GTR350cc]

I predict great success for it. I will probably buy one.

[yjleesvrr]

A new milestone in portable gear. But I'm not a huge fan of using small screens to browse the web. Given its size, it will be good for basic web use at best. Its main value will be in messaging, music, as well as cell. Even with a 2 megapixel built-in camera, I'm also not a proponent of using a phone to take pictures. Too bad Cingular is the only company that is slated to offer it in the U.S. I'm going to stick to my Verizon Blackberry.

[MattPie]

Luckily, Cingular is exclusive for only 6 months. After that, I suspect T-mobile would pick it up. Verizon might be a different story. They use a different technology (CDMA) than everyone else (GSM), and I'm not sure if Apple will make a CDMA model. Plus, Verizon puts its own interface on all the phones it sells, so they may balk at something so completely different.

Outside of that, it looks really slick. i'm not sure it's $5-600 slick, but slick nonetheless.

[Ric]

Alas! I think I grow weary of modern gadgetry.
In fact, I wish the 07 R1200R had carbs and CDI iggy.
And I think I shall go back to road maps on paper.

It all kinda takes a bit of charm out of life.

[Biff's R]

I like it. I think that the ability to sync your competer address book, and you phone's address book will be great. I also like the idea of being able to use the map, and weather report. I know that Apple will make it easy to use, and easy to read the display.

[MikeCam]

Hmmm! A multi-device with limited roll-out.

I do really like the design, apparent functionality and the promise of full Apple/Mac/iPod compatibility.

If the cell coverage is good (my Cingular experiences are less satisfactory than my Verizon experiences but T-Mobile is worse than both) and the cut-over from cellular to WiFi is seamless to the user, then I can see an advantage to not needing a cell phone and a laptop and a Blackberrry (closed network) and an entertainment device separately carried.

I am concerned about battery life and replacement (a notorious weakness of Apple products), Cingular's predatory position with regard to plans offered and durations required, future usability - is GSM/EDGE the right choice this time? What about TDMA/CDMA/GPRS and that Sprint thing - all promised much more than they ever delivered.

And while that is more device independent, I have to hope that Steve figured a way to stretch out the leap into the future so that it does not quickly become the past.

Now, anybody know how to repair a streaming 8 track for an iTunes interface?

[socalrob]

I want the next version with built in GPS & double the battery life.

16 hour battery life (& that sounds like mostly standby) ain't to great when you consider that the battery life will drop off 50 percent or so in maybe 9 - 12 months.

I do think we are seeing the future here though.

Where is my flying car?

[dcameron]

i thought this site was about r1150r's? did i miss something?

[mcooperstein]

i thought this site was about r1150r's? did i miss something?

This forum.. "Other" is about anything not directly related to the R1150R forum.

Anyway...concerning Apples hooplah about the iPhone..I just read an interesting article where Cisco is suing Apple over the name "iPhone". Seems that Cisco has owned that name since the late 1990's.

Mark

[MikeCam]

For those of us out here in consumer land, I wouldn't worry about the Cisco/Apple iPhone lawsuit.

Cisco claims a Trademark filing that may or may not be valid. Apple claims a Patent granted, etc. Trademark vs Patent is a vague area -courts for years or OOC settlement quietly.

Interesting headlines, but notice that Tech Stocks buyers yawned over the whole thing.

[machew01]

I've been trying to figure out how to get rid of the *%&(*&%^ telephones that I already have. I cannot imagine buying another one.

When my neighbor visits and the telephone rings, she gets visibly agitated when I ignore it. She says, "How can you not answer that?!" I reply, "Just like this." Then I do nothing.

And what's with call-waiting? If you don't want to talk to the person to whom you are talking, why talk to them in the first place? Just hang up!

And why do I, on a daily basis, see women drivers leave perfectly good parking lots while they are talking on the phone. Why don't they just stay in the parking lot?!

Thanks; I feel better.

mac

[GypsyRR]

I can't afford my Cingular phone bill as it is now since getting my daughter a phone. I can't imagine what it would cost me if I put one of these in her hands!!!!

However, I am much more disciplined and less impulsive then my daughter. Where can I get one? How much? I gotta have one of these!!

[chris]

I'd like one but it doesn't do the thing my SPVC500 (Cingular SMT5600 to folks in the US) already does which is run TomTom sat nav and link to my pocket bluetooth gps. If they can get that in there I'd happily buy it? Never satisfied eh!

[rdsmith3]

I once lost a cell phone. This was about five years ago, and it was just a plain, ordinary phone with all my contacts in it. It was really inconvenient to stop service, get a new phone, enter new contacts, etc.

So along comes a device like this, which has basically your whole life -- your music, photos, e-mail, voice messages, web site history, contacts -- all in one sleek, small, and desirable package. If you ever lose it, or it gets stolen, you have some serious issues. You have a lot of work to do to recover everything, and you have a huge risk of identity theft.

Other than that, I'm interested!

[hirsty]

... If you ever lose it, or it gets stolen, you have some serious issues. You have a lot of work to do to recover everything ...

Not at all - my standard Nokia handset already syncs it's address book, calendar, photos etc to Lotus Notes on my PC via bluetooth whenever the two are in the same room. My iPod also goes on it's cradle to sync with my iMac whenever I add new music.

If you ever lose your portable device, you just sync it all back from the computer to the replacement unit - that's the whole point - and it takes about 10 minutes.

[rdsmith3]

... If you ever lose it, or it gets stolen, you have some serious issues. You have a lot of work to do to recover everything ...

Not at all - my standard Nokia handset already syncs it's address book, calendar, photos etc to Lotus Notes on my PC via bluetooth whenever the two are in the same room. My iPod also goes on it's cradle to sync with my iMac whenever I add new music.

If you ever lose your portable device, you just sync it all back from the computer to the replacement unit - that's the whole point - and it takes about 10 minutes.

Well, that is one approach. But I believe that because the iPhone can do a lot of things (e-mail, music, web surfing, etc.), and because it costs $500, that may mean that some people buy this instead of a laptop. This is especially true for the younger age crowd to which Apple initially markets its devices.

Also, I did not explain very well, but when I said recover, I did not mean just getting back your data. You also have to, for example, cancel your credit cards if you have credit card data stored on the iPhone (from an internet purchase, for example).

I am not knocking the iPhone at all. I am just saying that with more personal data concentrated into a very small package that you carry around, you are incurring some greater risks.

[MikeCam]

First, I think this is one of the finer off-topics in a while. Not motorcycle related directly (indirectly, I'll make a point in a bit) but discussed among a group of like minded folks without the clutter of the Apple/Mac/more public boards where opinions are in fact often useless, meaningless, uninformed, and ignorant (mini-Rant over).

Some minuses have become apparent already in the 48 hours since the announcement. Keeping in mind that final development from feedback, Beta tests, FCC licensing and the Trademark negotiations may well change these, here are some shortcomings I see or suspect.

1. Will not sync via Bluetooth (music only or all content not known). Requires a hard wire or dock like the iPod.

2. Power requirements based on existing devices with similar functionality(ies) indicate either a very new and unheard of battery OR a very new and unheard of reduction of power consumption. PLUS, like iPod the battery is not replaceable, is proprietary, and has a questionable yet finite number of charge cycles.

3. Antenna placement, gain, and limitations. Apple gets this part of the design engineering wrong as often as right. Powerbooks, for example, have notoriously bad antenna gain due to placement within the case.

4. WiFi crossover with Bluetooth and EDGE/GSM/GPRS not demonstrated. Will it be seamless for the user or require intervention? If I am on the cell signal doing web browsing and move into a WiFi served area, how does the device react?

5. Cingular has a low reputation as a customer friendly company. What packages, deals, locks, contracts will they require? How seamlessly will the non-cell functions interact with the cell based functions when Cingular calculates billing and such? Will low cost plans come with certain device features locked out?

6. No removable, replaceable, capacity based flash card capability. Huh? I don't get that at all. That is an item of device convergence that seems so intuitively right for this device.

7. Will an all white, Beatles themed, pre-loaded version be available?

As a direct comment, I think Apple made a strategic error teaming with Cingular in this roll-out, even for a rumored 6 month to one year exclusive period. More cell phone users are non-Cingular customers in the U.S. and overseas markets than are Cingular customers. This could seriously hamper the early adopter cycle that was key to generating the original iPod success. And if the early adopters don't flock and crow about it, the thing is as dead as a Zune, a ROKR, and other recent failed roll-outs.

I suspect there is very little to the Cisco Trademark thing since the lawyers were set to sign as of 9pm (PST) Monday and something just happened to delay that agreement. Much less there than reports indicate I believe.

Finally, I think Apple nailed a good product idea, development, and design laden with interesting and very functional features - music, phone, camera, computer, gaming device. Just see these other little things as mistakes by the marketeers, green eyeshaders, or product minions. Nonetheless, Steve Jobs has the best track record in the business -- so we'll just see won't we?

Lastly - motorcycle riders and particularly touring types will certainly benefit from this move forward in device capability. I carried my iPod, laptop, cell phones (different plans and coverage areas), camera, and various chargers on my long trip this summer. I instantly see the value of replacing all that with one device that makes each little thing easier across the day. Yes, the camera is less capable, the browser less capable and smaller sized, the phone potentially useless in certain areas where Cingular or EDGE do not exist. But overall, the idea is really good and the industry will move this directions with Palm, Blackberry, iPaq type competitors seeking to converge and succeed in this space. All to the probable benefit of us riders (among many other types of users).

Nuff said.

[GTR350cc]

Interesting thoughts guy.

In the matter of the Trademark, I suspect a result might be an agreement where Apple renames their phone the iFon. Maybe even plan to already and just generating some attention with this lawsuit.

[sjbmw]

or the Iphode

Apple = Proprietary = blech